Month: September 2012

In 1982, as WABC New York’s run as a music station was coming to an end, ABC Radio laid plans for a then-new idea for a music network. This network was a complete Top-40 format, complete with major market deejays, jingles, promotions and sales. It even had a number of actual stations lined up to carry the format. Had this actually launched, there’s no telling how that might have affected ‘local’ radio. Remember, this was 1982, a full 14 years before Telcom ’96 pulled the rug out of localism and competitive programming. The full story of “SuperRadio” is on the web for those who want to search for it. There’s probably an aircheck of it somewhere… Full Disclosure: We received this on a tape back in 2003 which contained a number of other ai...

I uncovered an interesting fact while researching this recording. What written history there is of early WCOS programming was apparently remembered wrong, or the facts concerning this station’s change to Top 40 on August 5, 1958 were logged incorrectly. The recording you’re about to listen to features plenty of news, an “Open Mic” program and various programming elements throughout the day. WCOS is heavily promoting it’s new “Top 60 in Dixie” format about to begin the next day, and as part of its on air stunt, plays “I Wish I Was In Dixie” as the only record all day long. Historians record that the song was sung by Dean Martin, but as this recording clearly shows, it was NOT sung by Dean Martin, but rather Sammy Kaye and his Orchesra. T...

Here’s one that is very typical of mid-80s CHR radio. The hits are classic, the jingles from JAM and the format right on target, in the middle of the format – not too hard, not too soft. Everything about this screams 1984! I found it quite interesting while researching G105 that the station was owned by a newspaper (The Durham Morning Herald and Durham Sun) which never thought the station would be profitable – yet by 1984 was the cash cow of the company. WDCG began it’s Top 40 life in 1981, and it continues today as an Adult CHR station owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its current website can be viewed HERE. Courtesy of Contributor Robyn Watts.

There is a page dedicated to “A 25 Year Legend!”. Indeed, WQOK was a high rated Top 40 station, branded “Musicradio” during much of the late 70s, the “Super Q” during some years… no matter what the branding, WQOK was the favorite of many from the early 60s through the end of the 70s and into the 80s! We’re featuring Greg Taylor, recorded sometime during 1977. Listen to the high energy! AM Rock stations probably didn’t get much better than this and the energy level on most AMs peaked from 1976-1979 before the formats crashed and burned and moved over to FM. Another, courtesy of Contributor Robyn Watts!

The full story of 30 year Urban powerhouse KACE is provided in pieces elsewhere on the web. So, we’ll just stick to the basics. This recording comes to us from Contributor Jeffrey James, on CD mastered from his original tapes. KACE was an Urban formatted ratings leader in Southern California through the 80s and 90s. By the late 90s, the stations ratings had dropped considerably. For a time, the station was simulcast on 98.3 but that ended sometime around 1998 when that station flipped to Alternative Rock. In 2000, KACE owner Cox Media sold it and sister station KRTO to Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, and the format flipped from Urban to Spanish Contemporary. This recording is from the final hours of Urban programming before the switch.

From your Webmaster’s personal collection, here’s a ‘check of Lisa Manning on PD Rich Brother Robbin’s 98.1 The Cat Memphis from 2004. Recorded off the air on a Boston Acoustics HD radio plugged into a TEAC dual Cassette recorder, this is a great sounding off the air aircheck of Lisa Manning on WSRR. The Cat was a 70s/80s Classic Hits station that prior to this aircheck and Rich Brother Robbin arriving, was known as “Star 98”. The Cat was simply a re-branding and re-packaging of the format which was mostly 70s driven, but at this point had opened up to a lot of 80s Rock hits. I know that The Cat was voicetracked almost all shifts outside of the workday, having been doing morning news and weekends on sister WGKX “Kix 106 just two doors down the hall...

Like many of North America’s clear channel (the classification, not the company) stations, WSB’s 50kw signal was and still is heard over half of the United States and into Quebec and Southern Ontario Canada and the Maritimes. WSB was at the time of this recording, still playing music. It was an Adult Contemporary station, with lots of personality and an emphasis on News and information. I’ll leave most of the discussion of this aircheck to our visitors. Courtesy of California Aircheck (Tape #S-80) via Contributor Robyn Watts

Gone long enough so that there are no official logos anywhere to post with this, “Disco-E” means virtually nothing to us now, but perhaps back in 1981 when this was recorded, the Disco format this station obviously had at one point was still evident, although the playlist, while including such stiffs as Cher’s “Take Me Home” and The Brothers Johnson’s “Stomp” also included mainstream hits from artists such as Billy Joel and Bob Seger. This is all-too-short for us to really get a good feel for the station, but two things do come to mind. First, it was a music station on AM which was bucking the then-tide of stations flipping to Middle of the Road, AC or Oldies from the 50s & 60s, and instead playing contemporary, up-tempo hits. We also do...

This is very short but included on a tape contributed by Big Apple Airchecks is this 3 1/2 minute clip of just jingles. This isn’t the best quality, but all were recorded off the air and taken from assorted airchecks. The only two I recognize as not being from the New England area are WGAR Cleveland and WLS Chicago. Everything else is mainly northern New England… NH and Maine stations. There are a few Boston jingles. Listen for the old ‘Soft Rock 103’ WEEI-FM cuts and the signature Charlie Van Dyke WRKO jock cut as interesting items in this.

How many people knew there was something up in central Maine other than Elk, Moose and Deer? All kidding aside, this is the first aircheck we have of the Brunswick market, and it’s true classic Top 40 all the way! Big Apple Airchecks submitted this long scope of Willie Mitchell and John McKay that appears to have been recorded over a two day period, since Willie Mitchell appears for a second session after McKay. The station first went on the air in 1971 with the call letters WJTO. As WIGY, the station was Top 40 and remained until they went Classic Rock in 1991 with the call letters WKRH. Listening to this, one might make the comparison to Boston’s WRKO at about the same time period. The jock approach sounds quite similar, although the jingles used here are JAM resings of one o...

Courtesy of longtime contributor Robyn Watts, from California Aircheck tape #96, here’s Chicago’s 890 AM WLS. John Records Landecker is the featured jock on a very TALK intensive show that features very little in the way of music, but still playing the contemporary “AM 89 WLS” jingles from Jam Creative Productions. I’m struck by just how warm WLS sounds. Warm as a descriptive word meaning entertaining and comfortable. Landecker is perfectly at home as a talk show host, although this is NOT a talk show, or a talk station. More, perhaps, a variety show at this point in the evolution of WLS-AM. Take note of Landecker’s announcement that Tom Snyder begins airing that night at Midnight. Snyder was syndicated nationally by ABC and was another milestone in WLS&...

Courtesy of Contributor Robyn Watts, from California Aircheck ™ tape #S-80 of May 1986. “Do you get the feelin’ these people snuck in and took a look at our checkbooks…?” Gary McKee is in great form playing the hits of the day on CHR 94.1 WQXI-FM. Its the first day of Spring and yet cold as a New England Winter day in the deep South. Listen in about halfway through this 12 minute scope for a 94Q Morning News update with Yetta Levitt, Eileen Kimball (Traffic) and Sports with Neil Williamson. Course, the news is scoped, too – and that takes all the fun out of it. Radio, as in life, is full of coincidences. Through most of the 1970s and 80s, Gary McKee was one of Atlanta’s most popular and beloved personalities – the parents of kids in the 80s w...